Oxford University Press in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies
This volume is the first to focus specifically on esoteric interpretation as a phenomenon in the field of Qur鈥檃nic exegesis and to show the plurality of ways it has been manifested in different Muslim traditions. Concern with the inner, spiritual implications of the Qur鈥檃n has usually been associated with mystical and Sufi trends in Islam. However, there have also been exegetes among the Shi鈥榓, as well as among philosophers, who sought to supplement their understanding of the Qur鈥檃n鈥檚 apparent meaning by eliciting deeper significations through contemplation of the verses.
The Spirit and the Letter examines the multiplicity of these esoteric approaches, covering a period that extends from the third/ninth century to the present. It includes chapters on philosophical and Shi鈥榠 exegetes, such as Ibn S墨n腻 (d. 428/1037) and Mull腻 峁dr腻 (d. 1045/1636), in addition to studies of a range of Sufi perspectives, from al-Sulam墨 (d. 412/1021) and al-Qushayr墨 (d. 465/1072) to R奴zbih腻n Baql墨 (d. 606/1209), as well as representatives of the Ibn 士Arab墨 and Kubr腻w墨 schools. Considered together, the range of studies in this volume enable us to see what these approaches have in common and how they differ, and how the hermeneutics and content of exegesis are affected by doctrinal and ideological perspectives of various traditions and periods. Furthermore, they deepen our understanding of what actually constitutes esoteric interpretation and the need to look beyond the letter to the spirit of the Qur鈥檃nic word.
Notes on Contributors
Note on Transliteration, Conventions and Abbreviations
Preface
Introduction, Annabel Keeler and Sajjad Rizvi
Part I: Comparative Hermeneutics
1. The Countless Faces of Understanding: On 滨蝉迟颈苍产腻峁, Mystical Listening and Sufi Exegesis, Sara Sviri
2. The Interpretation of the Arabic Letters in Early Sufism: Sulam墨鈥檚 Shar岣 ma士腻n墨 al-岣r奴f, Gerhard B枚wering
3. Towards a Prophetology of Love: The Figure of Jacob in Sufi Commentaries on S奴rat Y奴suf, Annabel Keeler
4. Making it Plain: Sufi Commentaries in English in the Twentieth Century, Kristin Zahra Sands
Part II: Commentators and Texts in Focus
5. Outlines of Early Ismaili-Fatimid Qur鈥檃n Exegesis, Meir M. Bar-Asher
6. Ibn S墨n腻鈥檚 Qur鈥檃nic Hermeneutics, Peter Heath
7. Qushayr墨鈥檚 Exegetical Encounter with the 惭颈士谤腻箩, Martin Nguyen
8. Shahrast腻n墨's Maf腻t墨岣 al-asr腻r: A Medieval Ismaili System of Hermeneutics?, Toby Mayer
9. Q奴naw墨's Scriptural Hermeneutics, Richard Todd
10. Eschatology and Hermeneutics in K腻sh腻n墨's Ta示w墨l腻t al-Qur示腻n, Pierre Lory
11. Simn腻n墨 and Hermeneutics, Paul Ballanfat
12. Speech, Book, and Healing Knowledge: The Qur鈥檃nic Hermeneutics of Mull腻 峁dr腻, Janis Esots
13. Aspects of Mystical Hermeneutics and the Theory of the Oneness of Being (wa岣at al-wuj奴d) in the work of 士Abd al-Ghan墨 al-N腻bulus墨 (d. 1143/1731), Bakri Aladdin
14. The Sufi Hermeneutics of Ibn 士Aj墨ba (d. 1224/1809): A Study of Some Eschatological Verses of the Qur鈥檃n, Mahmut Ay
15. Beyond the Letter: Explanation (迟补蹿蝉墨谤) versus Adaptation (迟补峁璪墨辩) in 峁琣b腻峁璦b腻士墨 s 补濒-惭墨锄腻苍, Amin Ehteshami and Sajjad Rizvi
Bibliography
Index of Qur鈥檃nic Citations
General Index
鈥淜eeler, Rizvi, and their authors have undoubtedly made a major achievement in bringing such a wide variety of sources together in The Spirit and the Letter. Aside from the fact that the articles they鈥檝e collected span enough traditions and periods to appeal to Islamic studies scholars of a variety of different stripes, their ability to find terms that can coherently render such a variety comprehensible is in its own right a major contribution to the field.鈥
鈥 Robert Landau Ames, Reading Religion
鈥淭his is the first major work on the key mystics and theologians who composed esoteric commentaries on the Qur鈥檃n. Fifteen erudite contributions by some of the most eminent authorities in the field of Muslim philosophy, Shi鈥榠 exegesis, Ismaili thought, Akbarian theosophy and Sufism, explore over a millennium of esoteric commentators and commentaries on the Qur鈥檃n. Accompanied by an introduction that exhaustively examines the various intellectual trends, theological schools and theosophical terminology relating to mystical exegesis of the Qur鈥檃n, The Spirit and the Letter provides the most accessible treatment of the inner dimension of Muslim scriptural hermeneutics written to date."
鈥 Leonard Lewisohn, Senior Lecturer in Persian, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter
鈥淭his unique volume brings together a set of fascinating and methodologically sophisticated studies on a wide variety of esoteric approaches to the Qur鈥檃n. These collectively display the rich diversity of literary genres and authors engaged in esoteric exegesis in the Islamic tradition. Beginning with a comprehensive and incisive intellectual history of Sufi, Shi鈥榠 and philosophical exegesis, the volume offers both fresh readings of familiar works, and serious introductions to others.鈥
鈥 Maria M. Dakake, Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, George Mason University
Annabel Keeler is an Affiliated Researcher at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and a Research Associate of Wolfson College, both at the University of Cambridge. Her research interests include Sufi exegesis, early to 鈥榗lassical鈥 Islamic mysticism, Persian literature and prophetology. She is the author of Sufi Hermeneutics: The Qur鈥檃n Commentary of Rash墨d al-D墨n Maybud墨 (Oxford, 2006) and co-translator of the commentary of Sahl al-Tustar墨, under the title, Tafs墨r al-Tustar墨 (Kentucky, 2011).
Sajjad Rizvi is Associate Professor of Islamic Intellectual History at the University of Exeter. Trained as a historian at Oxford and Cambridge, he has previously taught at the universities of Cambridge and Bristol. A specialist of Islamic thought in the Islamic East, he is the author of Mull腻 峁dr腻 Sh墨r腻z墨 (Oxford, 2007) and Mulla 峁dr腻 and Metaphysics (London, 2009), and is currently working on a study of the same thinker's noetics. His future projects include a comparative history of philosophy in the Persianate eighteenth century, and an intellectual history of Islamic philosophical traditions in India from 1500 to 1900.